Richard E. Glor

Assistant Professor

Contact Information:

University of Rochester
Department of Biology
River Campus Box 270211
Rochester, New York 14627-0211

Hutchison 343

585-276-3346

Richard E. Glor

Research Overview

Work in our lab is focused on two fundamental questions in the study of biological diversification:

  1. What processes contribute to the formation of new species (i.e., speciation)?
  2. What factors underlie macroevolutionary patterns of species diversity?

Our efforts to address these questions rely heavily on the adaptive radiation of Caribbean Anolis lizards (anoles) as a model system. Nearly 400 species occur across the neotropics, making Anolis is the world’s most species-rich amniote genus. As many as 60 species may occur on a single Caribbean island, and specific communities may include as many as twelve sympatric congeners. If this weren't enough to make them a fascinating group for evolutionary and ecological studies, the green anole (Anolis carolinensis) has recently been selected as the subject of the first reptile genome project. A brief summary of our main research projects is below. More information can be found on our lab's main web page.

Speciation

Our work on species formation focuses on a number of longstanding controversies (e.g., the geographic context in which speciation occurs, the contribution of natural selection to this process). Our previous work on anoles establishes an important role for geographic differentiation, even within relatively small islands. We are now investigating the role environmentally mediated dewlap divergence (a colorful throatfan used for signaling) in anole speciation. Most recently, we have begun to explore the methods that might be used to identify the genetic basis of species differentiation at the whole genome level (in collaboration with Sergey Nuzhdin at UC Davis).

Figure1

Map showing geographic structure and introgression of mtDNA haplotypes and rhodopsin sequences in the Cuban green anoles (Anolis allisoni and A. porcatus). Black bars indicate historically significant overwater barriers. The results of this sudy supported speciation via allopatric divergence prior to the formation of modern-day Cuba with some subsequent mitochondrial introgression.

Macroevolutionary Patterns of Species Richness

Macroevolutionary studies in the lab employ a comparative phylogenetic perspective to identify patterns of diversification and assess the causal mechanisms that underlie these patterns. Current work on this topic includes a test of whether distinct, predictable stages characterize the anole radiation and that of other adaptive radiations. We are also interested more generally in the application of neontological and paleontological data to infer broad-scale macroevolutionary patterns of species diversification. A review of the methods, conclusions, and limitations of such studies is the focus of another ongoing project (in collaboration with Geerat Vermeij at UC Davis).

Figure2

Phylogeny for Greater Antillean Anolis lizards showing reconstruction of microhabitat specialization via maximum likelihood. Microhabitat divergence occurred relatively early in the radiation. Subsequent speciation events have been associated with differentiation along other resource axes.

Selected Publications